Just Take A Moment
by Jewel Song
Summary: A collection of drabbles written for theavatar100 community on LiveJournal. [Various genres and pairings]
1. Second Chance: Rematch

**Title:** Rematch  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 200  
**Comments:** Written for the LJ theavatar100 community. Challenge #37 -Second Chance.

* * *

It is evening, and brilliant colors such as orange and pink spread across the sky to create something like a huge painted canvas. Both the moon and sun are in the sky, creating a sort of balance. 

She kneels by the river, bending water into canteens for their journey. He approaches her, and she turns to face him.

"I want a rematch."

She looks at him, her head tilted to one side, "A rematch? You make it sound like we're still enemies, Zuko."

"I want an even match between us. When neither one of us is at an advantage because of the moon or sun. Both of them reside in the sky now. So, I want a rematch."

Katara stands up; her braid slipping behind her back and a smirk appearing on her face.

"Alright. I won't call it a rematch, though. This is just a sparring session. We aren't enemies anymore."

Both of them get into fighting stances, and begin their duel.

Later, as he hovers above her, both of them breathing in short gasps of air, her wrists pinned by his hands and his eyes trained on her lips, he thinks this is his second chance at victory.

* * *

: _What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better_. -Wendell Phillips : 


	2. The Morning After: Let Me Go

**Title:** Let Me Go  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 78  
**Notes:** Open Interpretation.Written for LJs theavatar100 community, Challenge #34 - The Morning After.

* * *

The morning after Kana left her homeland, he wondered what went wrong. 

A week after she had left, he wondered what _he_ had done wrong.

A month after she had left, he wondered when (and how) he would forget her.

The morning after Katara arrived years later, she stood before him; blue eyes burning holes into his own, looking exactly like her grandmother did so many years ago.

Pakku wondered how he had become ensnared all over again.

* * *

: "_Sanity relied on numbness, sometimes."_ - Merry Gentry, Kiss of Shadows : 


	3. Memory: Distant Memory

**Title:** Distant Memory  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Comments:** Written for LiveJournal's theavatar100, Challenge #35: Memory. Also, you'll notice that these drabbles aren't being updated in a particular order.

* * *

Katara remembers her mother quite well. She remembers the smell that surrounded her when she would sit with Gran-Gran and her mother; talking quietly.

When she was younger, Katara would ask her mother how she always smelled so nice when Daddy smelt so bad, but her mother would just laugh and say she liked Daddy's scent just fine.

Katara remembers the way her mother seemed to glide around the hut preparing a delicious dinner, a beautiful smile on her face with warmth shining in her eyes that the South Pole could never freeze.

But Katara can't remember her mother's voice.

* * *

: "_I was drowning my sorrows, but my sorrows, they learned to swim_." - U2, "Until The End Of The World" :


	4. I'm sorry: A Misunderstanding

**Title:** A Misunderstanding  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 209  
**Challenge #36:** "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening"

* * *

The moment of truth had arrived.

Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation and son of the Fire Lord Ozai, had finally decided to join forces with the Avatar.

It was a logical decision, really. After all, his father was slaughtering and imprisoning innocent people in a foolish quest for power that would be his downfall. It now seemed obvious to Zuko that even if he brought the Avatar to his father, chained and bent to his will, nothing would return to normal.

So he made his decision.

"…And so I have decided, Ava- _Aang_ , that I will help you learn firebending, and will assist you in your quest to save the world. We must stop my father at all costs."

Zuko carefully watched the Airbender's face, looking for any clue to his thoughts or emotions. All he received was a slightly blank look with a mouth hanging slightly open. He supposed that was natural. It's not everyday that the enemy that's been chasing you for nearly a year suddenly offers to teach you.

"Well? Do you accept?"

Aang blinked a few times before looking at Zuko like he'd never seen him before.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. Can you repeat that?"

Zuko roared and threw a fireball at him.

* * *

: "_Grant me the security to accept things I cannot change, the courage to change things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I killed today because they pissed me off."_ - Random Forward : 


	5. Domestic Chores: Small Comforts

**Title:** Small Comforts  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 209  
**Challenge #38:** Domestic Chores

* * *

When she still lived in the South Pole, Katara used to do many chores in the hut she lived in. Since Gran-Gran wasn't getting any younger and her mother was gone, Katara took it upon herself to be the woman of the house.

She gutted and cooked the fish and eels that Sokka caught.  
She dusted and picked up around the hut whenever it became messy.  
She did all the dirty laundry that Sokka constantly managed to bring in.  
She took care of the children in the village when their mothers were busy.

Katara did all of these things, on top of taking care of Gran-Gran when the poor woman was in pain from her aging body.

These chores, while boring and meaningless to others, gave Katara small comforts. They gave her something to do and a way to be useful to her family, while they also gave her a way to be close to her mother; as if by somehow doing the things her mother used to do, it would keep the kind, dutiful, woman she remembered fresh in her mind forever.

Now, Zuko tells her the maids will take care of it. The wife of the Fire Lord has no need to do such inane tasks.

* * *

: "_It hurts to find out that what you wanted doesn't match what you dreamed it would be_."- Randy K. Milholland : 


	6. Degringolade: Break Down

**Title:** Break Down  
**Author: **Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Challenge #39:** Degringolade

degringolade: A rapid decline, deterioration, or collapse (of a situation).  
From French, from dégringoler (to tumble down, fall sharply), from Middle French desgringueler, from des- (de-) + gringueler (to tumble), from Middle Dutch crinkelen (to curl).

* * *

He was losing them. The trust in their eyes was quickly turning to disbelief and anger, and no matter what he said, he couldn't change it.

He couldn't believe this was happening. He had planned. Oh, he had plannedso very, _very_, carefully. Every single detail had been worked out, down to the last second. But that foolish Water tribe peasant had ruined _everything_.

Katara was crying as he reached for her, and he could see his dream slipping through his fingers. He had to do something.

So he did.

And now Jet was frozen to a tree.

_Damn it_.

* * *

: "_We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us_." **- **Francois de La Rochefoucauld : 


	7. Culture and Music: A Little White Lie

**Title:** A Little White Lie  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 175  
**Challenge #42:** Culture and Music

* * *

Sokka was enjoying himself.

He was enjoying himself _immensely_.

There was no way Zuko would be able to pull this off. So what if he had actually asked Sokka for Katara's hand in marriage? There was no wayhe was just going to hand his only sister over to the arrogant fire prince without making him work for it.

"_I have to what?"_

"_You have to make her a necklace, Zuko. It's part of our culture. If you can't follow our customs and traditions, there's no way I'll let you marry Katara."_

Okay, so it was part of the Northern Watertribe's culture. Sister tribes and all that. It didn't matter, because Zuko was going to fail miserably and then Sokka could choose a proper husband for his sister.

A small wrench was thrown in the works, however, when Katara threw herself into Zuko's arms saying that the necklace was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and of course she would marry him.

Another brotherly protection plan foiled. But this was _far_ from over.

* * *

: "_To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge_." - Disraeli : 


	8. Sacrifice: Paradise

**Title:** Paradise  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 156  
**Challenge #43:** Sacrifice  
**Comments:** Because I needed to write something after Book Two's second episode. Drabble inspired by "Paradise", written and performed byVanessa Carlton

* * *

She looks at him, and knows that she must do this. It is what is expected of her. It is her _duty._

Blood pounds in her ears as she recalls his words to her the night before. Her chest tightens and her throat burns at the memory of him.

_You would throw away your own happiness for this?_

I would.

_For the short-lived joy of the people?_

Yes.

_This won't last forever, Katara. You know that. _

I know. I **know**.

_This is only a temporary solution to the problem! There will be peace for a short while, but only until the hatred rekindles! This won't change anything!_

"But this is the only thing I can give them," she whispers; quiet enough so that her companion does not hear her. Katara pushes the memory of heated kisses and golden eyes out of her mind as she presses her lips to Aang's and soothes her mind with lies.

* * *

: "_I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone"_.- Bill Cosby : 


	9. Spirit: Eternal Connections

**Title:** Eternal Connections  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 186  
**Challenge #47:** Spirit  
**Comments:** I think I may be beating a dead horse...

* * *

She felt like she _knew_ him. In a way that wasn't possible. Like she had known him her whole life and then some.

One minute she would feel totally content being with him; like she had come home after being away for a long time. While the next minute, would feel like her heart would just break from the sadness of being separated from him, when he would be right there next to her.

_Why?_

Katara knew that Prince Zuko was a spoiled, arrogant, bad tempered jerk who knew just how to push all her buttons.

Ok, so he hadn't been as spoiled since his banishment. Or as arrogant (the daily thrashings from Aang helped that). And even his temper improved while traveling with them on Appa.

But he still knew how to push all her buttons. And it seems he enjoyed it too, the jerk.

So why did she keep having strange dreams of him, or someone _like_ him being kind, gentle and…feminine?

"Why are you looking at me like that, Katara?"

"Hey Zuko… have you ever heard of the legend of Oma and Shu?"

* * *

: _"The past is what you remember, imagine you remember, convince yourself you remember, or pretend you remember."-_ Harold Pinter : 


	10. Historical AU: Puppet Master

**Title:** Puppet Master  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 174  
**Warnings: **DARK  
**Challenge #50:** Historical AU

* * *

The White City glistened with an enchanting, seemingly innocent light. It was an incredible sight; one that she would use to her advantage as long as the fair was present.

It was almost too easy to seduce him into her clutches. He was attracted to her immediately and she wasted no time in inviting him to stay with her while the fair was in town. He fell in love with her, and she pretended (_oh, did she pretend_) to feel the same way.

She easily became aroused as she imagined him struggling to get out of the soundproof gas room; fighting for his life even as his body failed him. His cries would go unheard. She slightly regretted the fact that she wouldn't get to hear his desperate pleading cries, but the end product was still worth it.

She would strip his torso the skin, leaving him raw, and then sell him to medical schools to be studied, while she was paid handsomely for "contributing to scientific research".

And then she would choose her next victim.

* * *

Azula in the role of serial killer H.H. Holmes who used the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition Fair in Chicago (aka: The White City) to his advantage as he seduced, married and then tortured women. H.H. Holmes was suspected to be a sociopath; hence my choice of Azula in the role.

Inspired by Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City; an excellent historical fiction novel. Check it out!

* * *

: _"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."_ - Joseph Corrad :


	11. Mirrors: Monochrome

**Title:** Monochrome  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 132  
**Challenge #52:** Mirrors

* * *

Toph has no idea what she looks like.

She fears that she is horrible to look at, and that perhaps that was the reason her parents hid her away, not just the fact that she's blind.

As she sits by the waters edge, Toph leans over and wishes she could see her reflection in the water. She wonders if she has dark or pale skin, light hair or dark hair. And even if she knew, she wouldn't know what face to put them too.

"Toph? Is something wrong?

"Aang, am I pretty?"

There is a pause, and Toph's heart clenches just enough to hurt.

"Never mind! Forget I said-"

"Yes. You're very, _very_ pretty Toph."

She launches a boulder at him, yelling at him to go train some more, but she's smiling.

* * *

: _"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."_ - The Little Prince : 


	12. Line: Flow

**Title:** Flow  
**Author:** **jewelsong**  
**Word Count:** 193  
**Challenge #53:** Line  
**Comments**: A longer, alternative version of this has also been uploaded. It's called Stumble. The link to it is in my profile.

* * *

Zuko let out another irritated yell as slammed his fist into the spring beneath him. Why did his uncle have to make this lightening reflecting move based off the waterbenders? Why couldn't he have just used firebending?

After snarling at the clear water, Zuko tried to focus his mind on the task at hand.

_Flow…flow…like water…_

"You're as stiff as board, you know."

Whipping his head around, the banished prince glared at the Avatar's brown skinned female companion. His _waterbending_ companion.

Torn between asking her for help and telling her piss off, Zuko turned back around and glared at the water beneath him, getting ready to go through the motions again. He heard the girl(_what was her name? Katara?_) slip into the water with him and saw her smile slightly, no fear in her face whatsoever as she came to stand in front of him.

"You're thinking like a line. Think circle. Shift through the stances and the water, or in your case, the lightening, will shift with you."

A small smile tugged at his lips as she placed her hands on his, moving with him and the water beneath them.

* * *

: _"The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world."_ - Lao-tzu :  



	13. Titles: Fahrenheit 451

**Title:** Fahrenheit 451  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Notes:** Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper burns. Written for the LJ theavatar100 community, challenge #88 -Titles of famous literature

* * *

The fire comes streaming toward her and her grandmother, and with a scream, she is thrown back to an ash filled sky, and the stench of burning flesh. 

_Her mother, lying face down in the snow, the normally soft, dark skin blackened beyond comprehension._

She can feel the heat on her face, the flames as hot as the campfire that warms her at night, yet completely different at the same time.

Not for the first time (and definitely not for the last), she wonders if her skin will fold, blacken and burn as easily as an unwanted piece of paper.

* * *

: _Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased by tales, so is the other._ - Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626), "_Of Death_" : 


	14. Vice: Narcissist

**Title:** Narcissist  
**Author:** Jewel Song  
**Word Count:** 100  
**Comments:** Written for LJ's theavatar100 community, Challenge: #91- Vice. (It actually won, too!)

* * *

She moves through the stances flawlessly, as if dancing with the flames she commands. Her foolish brother watches; jealousy and hopelessness just bubbling beneath the surface, gazing at the strength beyond his grasp, the skill she attained effortlessly.

The lightening crackles at her fingertips, screaming for release as she revels in the power she holds.

_Look, Zuko. Look at the power you will never have._

_No one can touch me. I am invincible. I fear nothing. I am fire itself._

Even as Zuko's lightening streaks toward her, Azula says this to herself: the impossibility of defeat shattering before her eyes.

* * *

**Main Entry:** van·i·ty  
**Function:** _noun_  
**Pronunciation:** 'va-n&-te  
**Inflected Form(s):** _plural_ **-ties  
****3.** inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance 


End file.
